As Dusk Falls
The magic of a Summer Evening in Sète
8/18/20254 min read
We are just coming to the end of a long period of intense heat. After days when temperatures have approached 40C , the evenings provide some welcome relief, although even then it rarely feels cool. We have been spending some time in Sète, where the evenings have a special allure. Flocks of starlings chatter as they fly up and down our avenue , seeking to perch in the tree tops before dusk falls. If I am lucky I may spot a bat venturing out on the evening air. It is just around then that we emerge from our apartment, where we have been busily arranging things, to stroll around in the cooling air.
The Canal du Péyrade runs by at the bottom of our avenue, linking the Canale Royal with the Canal Maritime. It is here that we head, to stroll around the quays. The colours of the water grow warmer as the sun sets.
A round walk takes us past canals and over bridges. We stop to read a notice about the coming Fete St Louis, and notice how wooden platforms have been constructed along the banks of the Canal Royal, in preparation for the water jousting. Water jousting is a major summer event throughout the area, and the platforms and special gondolas are traditionally decorated in red ,white and blue.
There are many events and concerts coming up next week, and although we have already watched a jousting tournament at Mèze, we have never seen the big event at Sète. I hope to bring you more, so do watch this space!.
Finally, we end up back in avenue Victor Hugo, where there are fewer tourists, and the coloured fountains in Place Stalingrad have attracted local families. Parents sit on the nearby benches chatting, while their children play in the cooling jets of water, feeling all powerful as the spurting jets seem to increase and diminish at their command . Their enthralled faces glow red and blue as the colours change.
By the time we return to our apartment it is dark. I watch from the balcony as a full moon rises magically above the roof tops to the east. A cruise liner has recently docked in the large port to our south. It glows in the moonlight like a ghost ship. After our interminably hot and busy day, these evenings are such a welcome relief.
In many ways I shall be glad when the intense heat of this summer has passed. But there are things that I shall miss that only take place in summer , such as the evening concerts at the Theatre de la Mer. I have already blogged about the Jazz Festival there, but they host other concerts too. I shall never forget our visit to the annual Fiest' à Sète, which has as its theme the music of Africa. We went along especially to hear Salif Keita, "The Golden Voice of Africa." The atmosphere was electric and the crowd joyfully diverse. Steaming bowls of a Senegalese fish stew were served to hungry concert goers, containing whole bits of fresh fish in a rich brown sauce. How I wished that we had not eaten earlier.
The Colourful and Diverse Crowd waits with Anticipation as darkness falls.
Salif Keita is no longer young, but as he opened with a solo number, his voice seemed as haunting as ever. Sadly, for us, the rest of his performance was ruined by an over-enthusiastic drummer, and bad acoustics. But all was not lost, for we had already been introduced to a new voice: that of Ablaye Sissoko from Senegal. The sounds of his accomplished plucking of the kora, and the harmonious notes of his accompanying accordionist were gentle and soothing. They formed a perfect complement to this absolutely heavenly voice, that sang of Africa. This was a concert I shall never forget.I can't wait for next years Fiest' à Sète
As we returned to the centre of town on the 'bateau bus, ' the lights of the port played over the water. A beautiful end to a very special and magical summer evening in Sète.
